After India announced an export ban on non-basmati white rice on July 20, the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in the US have resorted to hoarding bags of rice from supermarkets.Videos of NRIs gathering in supermarkets across North America, collecting rice bags in a wave of panic buying, have gone viral on social media. In other videos, members of the Indian community in the US can be seen with multiple bags of rice in trolley bags, standing in supermarket queues.#India has banned the export of rice to foreign countries. NRI rising for rice in concern #RiceExportsBan #RiceExports pic.twitter.com/jRFqh6uiAK— Siraj Noorani (@sirajnoorani) July 22, 2023BREAKING NEWS: Famine on its way! Panic buying of rice has begun in North America. India the worlds largest exporter of rice with 40% of the global rice supply has just been taken off the markets.The price of rice which is a staple of millions of people around the world has… pic.twitter.com/IJpshcIp63— Jim Ferguson (@JimFergusonUK) July 25, 2023Rice bags jump in price, grocery stores put restriction on sales amid US rice hoardingA report by news outlet Times of India said, “A bag of 9kg rice is sold at $27” (₹2,210), adding that the Telugu community has been at the forefront of the panic buying spree. According to the report, Indian grocery stores across major US cities such as Texas, Michigan, and New Jersey are crowded with Indian-origin people – mostly Telugu – which has led to certain stores putting restrictions on rice sales, allowing only one rice bag per customer. The situation is similar in Alabama and Illinois, but slightly better.“We have witnessed prices skyrocketing during the pandemic. With that precedent, people are rushing to stash rice in advance,” Detroit resident Krishna Mohan S told TOI.However, across the Atlantic in Ireland, no hoarding was seen among the Indian community, as per Dublin restaurateur Jayanth Reddy Mettu. Similar calmness was also observed in Dubai – which has almost 28% Indian population – as per local resident S Ramakrishna Prasad.On July 20, India – which accounts for over 40% of global rice exports – put the non-basmati white rice in the prohibited category. The change was initiated to regulate the prices of rice in the domestic market, as per reports.The largest importer of non-basmati rice from India includes Benin, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Cote D Ivoire, Togo, Senegal, Guinea, Vietnam, Djibouti, Madagascar, Cameroon Somalia, Malaysia, Liberia, and UAE.
